Sealed sleeve bearing



fJfL.- BROWN SEALED SLEEVE BEAR-ING Filed` April is. 1928 "ssheets-sheet 1 l I 1 T lllr -11,1

`L; BROWN SEALED SIJEEVIFL` Bamm@ f-Ajm 9; 1932,!

a shetswsheet 2 Filed April 16. 1928 WWENTQR` John L ,.Browl ATTORNEYAug. 9, 19,32- J. L. BROWN l 1,870,791

SEALED SLEEVE BEARING Filed 'Aprill 16, 1928 s sheets-sheet 3 INVENTORJohn L .Brown AT'TORNEY Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENToEFlcE JOHN L. BROWN, F VERONA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB T0 WESTIlNGHOUS-EELECTRIU i. IANUFACTUBING COIPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA SEALEDsLEzvn Banania Application led April 10,

My invention relates to sealed sleeve bearings, and more particularly tobearin 1ocated near the rotor fan of ventila dynamo-electric machineswherein suction created b lthe rotor fan causes oil-saturated air to berawn from the bearing housing into the machine.

In splitbearing pedestals or brackets, the oil spra condenses in partsof the interior walls` o the upper part of the housing and trickles downto the split. Unlessfthe split is thoroughly sealed, the small capillaryspaces between the upper and lower halves of the housing become lledwith oil. The

y; suction produced b the blower at4 the inner endof the housing rawsoif oil from the ends of these crevices, and the loss, at this point,replenished by` conduction of oil along. the capillary spaces, whichare, in turn, continuously fed by drainage down the inside walls of theupper part of the housing. Even though the split is sealed, the escapeof the oil in the form of a spray mixed with air currents takes placethrough the annular clearances around the shaft where it emerges fromthe inner end of the housing.

Although the rate of escape of the oil from 'the source just mentionedmay be very small, the aggregate loss into the windings in a ,80 numberof months is very appreciable, and

`causes serious deterioration of the insulation. If, however, thecreation of oil spray in the housing can be prevented, the oil leakagewill be eliminated.

Statistics have shown that more than lof motor repairs are madenecessary by the breakdown of windings that have become soaked with oil.With sleeve bearings of the old non-sealed type, it has been foundalmost impossible to keep oil from getting into the winding.

The principal object of my invention is to confine the splash made bythe oil rings, as they are rotated by the shaft, to a small oil` w ringchamber which is entirely closed except 1988.. Seria! No. 270,188.

.vide a chamber for receiving the oil upon leaving` the bearings, whichis sealed from the atmosphere, and the bottom part of which is submergedin the oil. U My invention resides in a means for enclosing the oilrings in a sleeve bearing, in the manner hereinafter described andclaimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1is a sectional view of a dynamoelect-ric machine embodying my invention,

Flg. 2 is a longitudinal elevational view of a s lit bearing removedfrom its housing, the rig t-hand portion of my splash guard being brokenaway to show the oil-ring oove,

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view s owing, in detail, the construction of achamber for confining the splashing resulting from the return of the oilfrom the end of the bearing `to the oil-reservoir'in the bottom of thehouslng,

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on IV--IV of Fig. 2, and

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are plan, side, and end ele- Y vational views,respectively, showing the structural details of my splash guard.

My invention is illustrated as applied to a dynamo-electric machinehaving a` stator member 8, and having a rotor member 9 which is fixed toa shaft 10 that passes through a bearing 11 of my improved design. Thelatter is carried by a bearing housing 12 which may be mounted either ona pedestal or on an end frame 13 which constitutes a part of the machinecasing. At a point adjacent to the bearing, the rotor 9 is provided witha blower 14 that draws the air through I0 the une "u l pe'rforationswhich are provided Abetween e arrows 16, the air then passing over thewindings and cores and leaving the machine through the middle portionofthe .'stator frame.

A suction is also created near 'the shaft, as a result of the fanaction, which tends to draw p v f Y air into the machine from within thebearing Y. w' I that are undesirable.

housing 2, suchvair containing oil vapors Although methods have been`utilized to prevent such air' from bein drawn into the `machine fromaround the s aft, Vat the inner Y oil-laden airfrom the inner end of thebear-- ing housing, as shown in the Hellmund and Moore Patent No.1,329,241, granted on anuary 27 ,i 1920 and assigned to the WestinghouseElectric. & Manufacturing Company, comprises the provision of a bypasschamber 17 surrounding'rthe shaft and fitting over theinner part or `endof the bearing housing, said chamber being connected with the outsideatmosphere.y The chamber l'reduces the suction at the inner end' of thebearing and tends to equalizethe pressure f there with the pressure atthe front end of 'l g the bearin thereby reducing the tendency 35 forair to ow through the housingi `The bearing shell'll is'preferablysplit,

as indicated at 19 in and Afl, into two parts, a top part 20v anabottom' part 21.

The top and bottom halves of the bearing 'shell are provided with dat,vertical side walls, as indicated at 22 in Fighhand the top half 20 isprovided with one or moreoil-` ringslots 23 which are not :cut .through`to the :top of this bearing portion, sothat a thin top wall 24of'metalisleftpover the-top of the oil-ring slot, `the oil .ring 25beingre-A moved by lifting oi the' entire ,top :half of the bearing. lA smallsight-hole" is "rovided,

lined cover 27 ,2 shown in ig-1, the top snrface of the bracket`beingiattened to ac-jcommodate said cover, Aas indicatedy at Figs. l'and 4. f

side of the slip ring l'25, as indicated at 29,

said skirts depending to a point below thev oil level 301 of the oilreservoir `31 in the 'bottom of the bearing housing 12.y

\ The ends or edges of the oil-ring slots and of the depending skirtsare closed by my splash guards 32, which are shown in posispokes 15 inthe end frame 13, as indicated by, t

j below the It will benoted that the chamberwhich encloses the slip-ringspaceis not quite her'- y vicesy within t e bearinlg tion in Fig. 4 andin the left half of Fi 2, and in detail in Figs. 5 to 47. The sp ashguardst tightly against the vertical side walls 22 of the bearing shelland provide enclosed spaces which conne the oil mist which is thrown ofrom the rapi ly revolving oil rings 25, thereby preventing theadmixture of such oil particles with the air which passes through thebearing.- V

The splash guard32 has channel portions 34 that are spaced by a crossportion 35 hav` ing an outwardly extending nose portion 36 and bossportions`37. The nose portion 36 of the splash guard cooperates with theside ofthe housing andthereby provides, means to prevent the bearingfrom rotating. The ends of the bearing are provided with ,oil-collectinggrooves 39 for collecting the oil that would otherwise be expelled fromthe ends of the bearing. j This oilis drained through passageways 40into the loil well 41. In order to` confine the, splash of the oil, asit drips from the ends ofthe passageway 40,1 provide depending skirtscomposing a receiving chamber 41 in the bottom of the bearing, thebottom of the chamber being Y oil level and, therefore, sealed by theoil. l

AThe shaft 10 may be provided with oilthrowing grooves 43 at the innerend of the bearing, in orderto stop y the oil-catching grooves 39, saidoil being resueh oil as passes turned to the oil reservoir 31 by meansof a same z sealed chamber V41 meticall vseele from the rest `of thespace V bracket. This is a desirable feature', ast

top cover 27 guards 32 and the-vertical sides 22 of the bearing, rmitthel equalization ofthe air pressure .in the slip-ring chamber and inVthe bearing housing, thus ensuring the same average oil-levels in theslip-ring space asin 1 the rest of the, oil reservoir 31. f

While Ipfhave shovnmy invention in only oneformyit` will be understoodthat various modifications maybe made without departing from the spiritand scope thereof as denedn the appended claims. The bottom half omy4bearing shell isv provided with depending skirts `on" either` `I claimas my invention:

Q1'. A splitbearing sleeve having' top and bottom halves havingcoplanarvertical side surfaces, said top 4half having a transverseV slot acrossits under side adapted to receive an oil ring, said bottom half havingdepend- 3 ,passageway- 44 in the lower half 21 ofthe bear1ng,`sa1dpassageway opening into theas the passageway y e restricted air pathspro-` vided byv theair-leaking joints under the and also between the iend vfemlportions` of the space enclosed by'the' i however, through thetop. shell-2 ,"toiper-:f `mit inspection of the oil rng, 'as indicatedat 26 in Figs. 1 and 4, landithis.:*sight-hole isnormally vclosed by a sringpressedyfelt iis ends of the transverse oilslot, said guardscontacting with the ends of said depending skirts to provide asplash-coniining chamber for said oil ring, said chamber extendin downbelow the main body portion of the cuentan of said new,

' 2. A split bearing sleeve having tg and 'ni side bottom halveshaving'lcoplanar' ve surfaces, said top al havin a trans verse slotacross its under si e adapted of said to half for inspecting said oilring an oil-ti t closure for said bottom alf havin depen tosaid top f Iverse oil-ring slot, said ring, said chamber extending down below themam body portionof sleeve.'

ing means, including perforations through from the journalbearingsurfaces an depending side and end skirts providing chambersentirely surrounding the drip ing oil which leaves said perfor-ations,said to receive an oil ring, a peep hole in the top `peep hole, said''ng skirts 0n. either side o f said o ring, and two removable oil-ringuards secured, one ateach'side, l

ga to cover the ends of the transguards contacting Y with the ends ofsaid depending skirts to ro-V vide a splashconning chamber for sai oil 43. An oil-ring journal bearing'eom rising a housing and a sleeve, saidhousing avingan oil reservoir in its bottom, said sleeve havits underside near its ends, for collecting oil 1'9' turning it to the reservoir,characterized by the fact that said perfor-ations, at each end of i saidsleeve, are surrounded b downwardlyl the bottom half of said c dependingbelow the oil level in said raser-'- 4. In combination, a split bearinghousing having top and bottom halves, a split bearing sleeve supportedin saidhousing and comnsmg top and bottom halves, an oil-ringubricated'shaft iournaled in said sleeve, an

oilreservoir in the bottom half of said heus- 4 ing, the top' half ofthe sleeve having an oily ringrece1v1ng slot cut across its inner bear-L.Q1

1n surface but not cut through the to anv oi ring riding on the shaftwithin sai oil 4 ring-receivin slot for raising oil from the reservoirto t e journal bearing surfaces durha f of the sleeve having downwardldepending skirts on either side of said o ring and dipping into the oilin said reservoir and s lash 'oil-ring-receiving slot for enclosing saidoil in normal continuousoperatlon, the bottom ards depending from eachside of t e top alf of the sleeve at the ends of said ring, said guardsdipping into the oil in said f reservoir .and contact' with the ends ofsa1d dependm skirts, Ac aracterized by the fact' that the ottom half ofthe sleeve has under side near its ends, for collecting oil from thejournal bearing surfaces and returning 1t to the reservoir, and furthercharactenzed bythe fact that said perorations,

means, including perforations through its depending .below 7 l izo.

